Business Directories

Qatar hikes stake in Canary Wharf owner

London, April 7, 2011

Songbird Estates, majority owner of Canary Wharf Group, said on Wednesday its two biggest shareholders, Qatar Holding and Simon Glick had increased their stakes in the company.

Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of the country's sovereign wealth fund, acquired 28.5 million ordinary shares, raising its stake by 3.7 percent to 27.7 percent, Songbird said in a statement to the London bourse.

GF Investments II, an investment vehicle for Simon Glick and his family, bought 8.8 million shares, increasing its stake by 1.1 percent to 25.1 percent, it said.

The sellers were not named and Songbird declined to comment.

The investments do not change the positions of Qatar Investments as the biggest investor in Songbird and GF Investments as No.2. The share increase is another indication of Qatar's keen interest in prime London property.

Qatar has been a long-term shareholder in Songbird, whose Canary Wharf Group is the developer of London's business district of the same name. Qatar also owns the former Chelsea Barracks site and last year bought Harrod's department store.